Is Graffiti Art Or Vandalism?

Love or hate it but Graffiti is part of the everyday urban world. It's a fact that Banksy and other well known street artists, who are now household names, have busted the whole urban art scene wide open, brought it forefront into the public's attention and it seems the room to sit on the fence with an opinion as to whether it is an art-form or vandalism just got a whole lot narrower.

People first started to recognise graffiti as an art form when paint started hitting the NYC subways in the 1970's and 80's. Gangs of graffiti artists known as crews began to develop. Graffiti however, still to this day remains an illegal art and the city authorities across the globe spend millions every year cleaning it up. Others will argue rules make a boring city, no character or self expression.

Nowadays some people consider that even the simplest thing such as photographing anomalous objects stacked on top of each other constitutes as being an acceptable art-form. While graffiti art in the appreciative eye, simply uses the urban environment as a creative canvas to showcase an innovative talent. So is Graffiti, art or vandalism?

Well... the famous saying "art is in the eye of the beholder" cannot be better suited in order to cast your own opinion, regardless of what government laws attempt to propose upon you. The controversy surrounding this debate keeps the scene extremely vibrant and exciting! It's your choice.